The End Is Where We Begin
by T'Reilani
Summary: The first rule of going on the run is "Don't trust anyone". The second rule is "Stay focused on survival". Everyone in the Autobot-NEST alliance knows that. So when Riella decides to break both of those rules, it's completely new territory for her and for her team. And probably not the best idea. Transformers/Captain America: The Winter Soldier crossover, OC-focused.
1. Prologue

**So this is what happens when I listen to the Thousand Foot Krutch album "The End Is Where We Begin" and watch "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" in the same week. The album inspired the basic story (some of the songs worked perfectly as themes for different characters, then they started inspiring stories, and it went from there) and then I saw the movie and this turned into a crossover. I REGRET NOTHING. **

**Usual disclaimers apply. I'm pretty sure everybody knows by now which characters I made up and which ones are borrowed from canon. Tai is borrowed from author Tatyana Witwicky with permission and character input. There's a glossary of Transformers terms at the end of the prologue, for anyone who isn't familiar with the fandom.**

_**The End Is Where We Begin**_

_**Prologue**_

**Outside Chicago, Illinois, USA**

**9:25 PM, US Central Time**

Riella rounded the corner, ducked under Prowl's arm, and groaned at the sight that greeted her. "Again? This is the third time this _week!_ We've barely had this base for a month, and it's been blown up six times. By our own systems, for Primus's sake."

"I know, I know." Sideswipe sighed and shifted one foot, trying to disentangle scorched fence parts from his wheels. "It's that slagging alarm. It goes off, five seconds, and then everything goes to Pit over here. No idea why it keeps recognizing _us _as threats."

"If it hadn't just hit you, you'd be first on my suspect list." Prowl half-smirked, but became serious again after a moment of looking at the damage. "Lennox?"

The major glanced up from his quiet discussion with the repair team. "Yeah?"

"Can we have the autocannons detached from the base alarm, please? As soon as possible." Prowl held out a hand to help Sideswipe climb clear of the wreckage. "I know your superiors insisted on the extra security, but it's become more of a hazard than a help. I'll talk to them if they're upset, but please have them shut down for tonight."

"Yeah. Sure." Lennox nodded. "If you can get your team to work on the wreckage, I'll put my boys on that. Set a few on watch, too."

"Thank you." Riella and Prowl exchanged a quick look and a few thoughts over the bond – _You handle the team? I'll handle the security – _before Riella opened her comm link. ::Base, I need every available Autobot to report to the main parking bay. We need a repair team and someone on patrol.::

::What, now?:: Sunstreaker sounded decidedly grumpy. ::I just got back. Chicago's a big place.::

::Yes, now. Don't worry, it won't take long.:: Riella rolled her optics and started over to the fence. ::Get this done, get a watch team set up, and then everybody can get some rest. We earned it today.::

Tai's voice echoed across the parking bay as she and Jazz hurried toward them. "Heard anything from Dad yet?"

"No, sorry." Riella shifted to organic mode, climbed over a few metal beams, and ducked down to place her shoulder under one and lift it off their equipment bin. Prowl picked it up one-handed and tossed it out of the way. "Nothing since the 'Con attack report this morning. I'd expect to hear from them tomorrow at the earliest." She glanced back at the younger technorganic with a half-smile. "Don't worry. Your father will be fine. Optimus Prime, remember? I've yet to see the Decepticon that could take him down."

"Yeah, I know." Tai sighed and climbed in to help. "Well, let's get this over with."

_**3:17 AM**_

Riella barely had time to wake up to Jazz yelling over the comm lines - ::Backup _now!_:: before the explosion ripped through the base and threw her lighter technorganic form across the room, away from Prowl.

Her head smacked against the wall, leaving a dent, and she skidded to the floor and crashed against a stack of datapads. Another explosion shook the base, shattering the ceiling and sending concrete and steel raining down on her. She saw the beam above her head just in time and dove to the left, steel missing her back by inches. The room was on fire, smoke clouding her optics and catching in her vocalizer. She couldn't see her sparkmate, and the bond wouldn't open no matter how hard she pushed. "Prowl! _Prowl!_"

Nothing. Not even a flicker.

Coughing, she forced herself to get up and run toward the door, navigating by memory and instinct. The hallway had taken just as much damage, wires sparking and concrete shattered across the floor. Ducking under fallen beams and scrambling over debris, Riella fought to open her comlink. ::Anyone copy? Status report!::

::Riella? Riella, where are you?:: Sideswipe's voice was almost too static-laced to be intelligible. ::Get out of there! It's going to - ::

Another explosion sent Riella stumbling, and before she could catch her balance, her entire sensory system went haywire. Feedback screeched through her audios, sparks and static lines almost blinded her, and every nerve sent jagged signals through her processor, _too-much-input-not-enough-output-energy-overload-spark-line-compromised-stasis-lock-imminent_. The last thing she heard was her own voice, screaming in pain.

**Glossary of Transformers Terms:**

_**Bond/sparkbond – **_**a mental link shared by sparkmates**

_**Optics – **_**eyes**

_**Processor **_**– mind, brain **

_**Spark – **_**Cybertronian heart, could roughly be described as a physical soul**

_**Sparkmate – **_**spouse**

_**Technorganic – **_**a part-organic, part-robotic being.**

_**Vocalizer – **_**throat**


	2. Chapter 1

_**Chapter One**_

**Chicago, Illinois, USA**

**6:19 AM, US Central Time**

"Riella? Ri! Ri, come on, wake up – _wake up – _"

Riella groaned, the high-pitched voice cutting into her aching processor like a chainsaw. "Tai, please. No need to shout."

"Sorry." Her friend's features blurred into view, short blond hair tangled and hanging in her face. Will Lennox hovered behind her, smoke-stained and with a bruise running the length of his jaw. "Are you okay?"

"I think so." Riella winced and ran a quick diagnostic. Other than sore joints and a headache, she couldn't identify any physical or processing problems. There was, however, an external problem.

"Where are we?"

Tai shrugged, grabbing Riella's hand and pulling her up. "Somewhere in Chicago a few miles from base. We would've gone further, but Lennox said – "

"_What?_" Riella cut her off sharply, pulled away, and almost fell over. Her limbs weren't quite back to functioning normally yet. "Where is everyone? What happened to the base?"

"Don't yell, Riella." Lennox held out an arm to steady her. She shook it off. "The base… it's gone. We barely made it out with you – thought we were all going to end up dead trying to drag you through back alleys without being seen. And by the way, you're welcome."

Riella shook her head, turning slowly to look at the buildings on either side. "What? Why didn't you call for pickup? The main base – "

"Is out of contact," Tai said softly. "We're cut off, Riella. I went back to the base an hour ago – just to find some of our supplies – and someone shot at me. I couldn't see them, but…" She lifted her metal arm, displaying a torn shirt and burn mark across the metal. "They're not using regular bullets. Whatever they've got, whoever they are, they can hurt us."

Riella shut her optics for a second. _Prowl. _She couldn't sense anything from him, not even location. There was no possible way for his spark to offline without her knowledge, was there? There couldn't be. "Did anyone else…"

"It's just us." Lennox turned away, looking at the ground. "It's not safe to use cellphones; we have to assume they can be tracked. Main base is out of contact, and the last we heard from them they were under attack. We're on our own."

_On our own._

Her voice rasped in her vocalizer. "How many did we lose?" Her processor had already jumped ahead, counting names and faces. _Five Autobots. Fifteen humans. Twenty lives. _

"I saw at least four of my guys go down." Lennox sighed, rubbing his forehead. "No 'bots in the wreckage, right, Tai?"

"Right." Tai blinked hard. "I – I didn't really have time to look, but I didn't see anyone. I think…" Her voice shook slightly. "Whatever that blast was that took you out? It had that same effect on every 'bot. I don't think it works on organics; it gave me a headache, but that was all. You've got more Cybertronian parts, so…"

"It affected me but not you. Yes." Riella could put the pieces together. "It was clearly nonlethal. You think they've been captured."

Tai sighed and looked back up at Riella, tears welling in her eyes. "Yeah. I – I can't sense Jazz. I know he's alive, but – "

"Same." Riella glanced back and forth between Tai and Lennox. "Any identification on the attackers? That didn't fit normal Decepticon _modus operandi_."

Both shook their heads, Tai responding. "Nothing. We…we have no idea."

Riella nodded slowly, catching a glimpse of three worn backpacks in a pile behind Tai with a leather jacket draped over one. "You brought my jacket?"

Tai shrugged and sniffled. "Yeah. I didn't know if…I figured you'd want it when you woke up."

_If you woke up. If not, something of yours to remember. _Riella could read between the lines, and reached past Tai to retrieve the smoke-stained jacket. "Thank you." Her jaw tightened as she slid it on and tossed one backpack into subspace, optics narrowing. "Let's go."

"Go where?" Lennox reached for his own backpack, one eyebrow rising skeptically. "NEST's been compromised, Riella. We need to find a safe house, try to make contact – "

"No, we don't." Riella switched on her holograms and pulled her tangled hair out of her face with a few quick movements, voice perfectly calm. "We need to find the ones responsible for this. We're going to find them. We're going to find our missing families and allies. And then we are going to make them regret ever coming near us."

Tai grinned shakily, slinging her pack over her shoulder. "Where do we start?"

Riella took only a few seconds to decide. "We take a risk. We walk out of Chicago. And see who follows."

"That is a _terrible _idea." Lennox followed her out of the narrow alley anyway. "Riella, think about this. We have your alt-mode. We can get across the country to - "

"Without getting killed? Doubtful." Riella didn't look back. "No. This ends now. Let's roll out."


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Decided for plot purposes that this takes place shortly after "Dark of the Moon". So Chicago's still half-destroyed after the Decepticon takeover. **

_**Chapter Two**_

_**Chicago, Illinois, USA**_

_**11:35 AM, US Central Time**_

"You realize this is a terrible idea, right? Right?" Tai had to take a few running steps to keep up with Riella. "Remember last time we were in Chicago without backup?"

Out of the corner of her optic, Riella could still see the blocked-off section of downtown, where the rebuilding had been in process for months. She remembered more destruction and debris. It was nice to see it returning to normal. "Of course I do. It was almost destroyed. Why do you think Prowl and I agreed to operational command of the new base? There are still Decepticon signals in the area. Chicago hasn't been hit since. We learned our lesson."

"I was asking if you remembered the part where we got cut off from Dad and the others and almost died." Tai rolled her eyes. "You know. Because we didn't have backup." Her voice quivered on the last word.

Riella paused and looked down at her, finally realizing what the younger technorganic was actually asking. "That won't happen again. This is a different situation."

"You don't know that." Tai swallowed hard and didn't look at Riella. "Jazz and 'Cade and Dad…what if they…"

"Don't." Riella cut her off gently and stopped walking, placing one hand on Tai's shoulder. "No what-ifs. Keep your head in the game. Fear is a luxury we cannot allow ourselves if we want to survive." She was talking as much to herself as to Tai. "Trust me. I've done this before. We will find them, and they _will _be alive." Over the top of Tai's head, she caught a glimpse of someone staring at them, and double-checked the holograms hiding her metal components. "Let's move. Head for the construction zone – there shouldn't be more than a few civilians there."

Tai didn't look reassured, but she hurried to catch up with Lennox. Riella waited a second longer, just long enough to get a look at the man in the dark jacket watching them from across the street, before following.

_Contact? _

Two intersections later, she saw him again out of the corner of one optic, on the opposite side of the street this time.

_Highly unlikely coincidence. Probability of threat: 89%._

Still, she waited until she'd seen the man in the dark jacket at five different intersections, including a back-alley one with no more than six civilians present, before letting Tai and Lennox get a few feet ahead of her, shrugging out of her own jacket and returning it to her backpack, and starting threat analysis.

_Approximately six feet tall. Average build, probably on the muscular side – jacket makes it difficult to tell. Steady walk with weight slightly to the left. Scan indicates significant amount of metal present on that side. Primary weapon unidentified. _

_Visible focus on targets indicates more combat training than stealth training. Minimal disguise confirms. Posture suggests military history. No communication devices detected. Possible bulletproof vest._

_COP .357 Derringer on right hip. Smaller handgun underneath along with approximately five-inch knife, both unidentified make due to distance. _

_Distance between unknown agent and target group closing. Probable initial target: Lennox. _

_Conclusion: lethal intent. Recommended course of action: intercept and incapacitate. _

Without looking over her shoulder, Riella quietly turned off her holograms and redirected the power to the new device installed in her left palm. Twenty yards and closing. She had to give the man credit; the intercept course looked completely natural. If she hadn't seen him before, she wouldn't have noticed.

_Initiate combat mode. _Her optics narrowed slightly as the figure entered her peripheral vision. Thirty feet.

Twenty.

Fifteen.

Ten.

Eight.

_Target lock. Magnetize. _

Her hand shot toward his left arm, magnet active and humming exactly the way it had in tests. But instead of the weapon she'd expected, the man's entire arm twisted and jerked toward the magnet. His wrist slammed into her palm hard enough to sting, metal clanging on metal as her fingers clamped down reflexively.

The man's head snapped up before she'd even finished the movement. Riella barely had time to glimpse dark hair and pale skin before his fist crashed into her face.

Pain shot up her jaw and down her neck as she twisted with the blow, instinctively yanking hard on his wrist and throwing him off-balance. _Active threat, human, minimal force authorized – _flashed through her processor in the nanosecond it took her to reorient, catch her balance, and jab her knee up into her opponent's midriff.

He grunted and doubled over – _biggest drawback of breathing, really_. As his head came down, Riella pulled her free arm back a few inches and smacked the heel of her hand into his chin, knocking his head back with an audible sound. Her opponent was stumbling, knees buckling, before Tai or Lennox could even finish drawing weapons. Riella allowed herself a second of satisfaction at how quickly she'd ended the fight.

That second was her first mistake.

A vicious jerk on her left arm threw her off-balance and dragged her two stumbling steps forward. Before she could catch herself, a heavy boot slammed into her knee, knocking her legs out from under her and sending her crashing down on her left elbow. As she tried to roll over, her opponent – clearly not as stunned as she'd thought – drove his knee into her chest and forced her back down onto the pavement, pinning her free arm with his other leg. Something flashed in his right hand, and cold metal brushed her throat just over the main energon line.

_Scrap._

"Riella!" Tai screamed her name. Footsteps thudded across the pavement, and a weapon hummed to life. "Get off her, you son of a – "

Before the sentence was finished, the man's hand jerked sharply, and the knife blade sliced a shallow gash into Riella's throat, biting through synthetic skin to gouge metal. She could already feel blood and energon welling up, burning the edges of the cut, and forced herself to ignore the surge of fear. _Strong enough to cut that energon line. No human could do that._

Tai must have seen the blade, because she skidded to a stop a few feet away. "Stop it! Hurt her and I'll kill you!"

The knife pushed down a fraction of a centimeter more, and the man pulled slightly on the wrist she was still holding, making his point clear. _Let go or I kill you. _Riella grimaced. _This is getting out of hand. _"Tai, back off!" Riella put as much authority into her voice as she could – which wasn't easy, given that she still had a knife to her throat – and let her head drop back to the pavement. For the first time since the fight started, she looked her opponent directly in the face.

Sunken dark eyes stared down at her, icy cold and calculating. No hesitation, no compassion, no _emotion_. Absolute focus.

He could kill her. And very well might.

_Who am I up against? _


	4. Chapter 3

_**Chapter Three**_

_**Chicago, Illinois, USA**_

_**11:51 AM, US Central Time**_

For a few nanoseconds, Riella found herself staring up into emotionless human eyes, desperately looking for a reaction, some hint of identity, anything that would give her an edge. _What are we dealing with?_

_Time to find out. _Her optics flicked away from those cold eyes, gauging the man's balance, his position. Identifying a weak point. Picking her target.

_Three._

"I said _let her go!_" Tai's gun powered a few feet away. Riella's jaw tightened as she let the magnet gradually detach, digging her right hand into the concrete for balance.

_Two. _

The knife scraped the slightest hint of metal away from her energon line.

_One. _

As the blade sliced down, Riella jerked her left hand away from the man's wrist, grabbed his knife hand, and shoved it up and back toward his chest. Several finger bones crunched under her grip, and he yelped in pain, instinctively opening his hand in an effort to make her let go. The knife bounced off Riella's wrist and clattered across the concrete.

The moment the knife was out of the way, Riella pushed off the ground and brought her knees up, slamming both into her opponent's back. The blow threw him forward, off-balance, and she flipped up and over backwards, sending him tumbling across the ground behind her.

No holding back. No reason to pull her punches. He was no human.

That was fine with Riella.

Her high-kick connected with his chest almost before he had time to get all the way up, and threw him five feet back. She lunged after him, onetwo_three_ steps and her fist crashed into his jaw again, knuckles stinging with the force of the blow.

The man somehow _still _stayed up, spinning around and driving his metal arm toward her throat. She caught his fist in mid-punch, clamped down, and wrenched him forward and to the left, smashing her right fist into the gap under his sternum and bringing her knee up toward his groin. He managed to shift just far enough to the side that she connected with his thigh instead, but the blow still threw him off-balance. The follow-up one-two punch to the torso audibly cracked ribs and forced him another step back.

Riella let go of her opponent's arm, swept a hard side-kick at his knees, and drove her elbow into his back when he fell. He went down hard, landing chest-first on the concrete, and she dropped on top of him, knees driving into his lower back and pinning his right arm. Her hand clamped around his left wrist again, forcing his metal arm into a hammerlock. Before he could try to roll, she locked her free hand into tangled dark hair, jerked his head sideways, and slammed his cheek into the pavement.

Apparently that was enough to make it clear who had won the fight, because the man let out a single shuddering breath and went still.

Riella let herself take a second to breathe again – metaphorically, at least – and checked her surroundings with a quick glance up. The street was almost deserted – even the construction workers must have bolted. The only people still there were Tai and Lennox, both staring at her in surprise.

Of course. What she'd just done would never fall under _minimal force_. No human would ever require it.

Blood trickled uncomfortably down her collarbone, leaving a green streak on her bodysuit. _No. No human could do that. _

Returning her gaze to what she could see of her opponent's face, Riella said quietly, "Perimeter check. I want a ten-yard radius minimum. Anyone comes within sight, I want to know about it."

"Got it." Lennox's heavy, measured footsteps moved rapidly away from her on the left. Tai, though, didn't move.

"Ri…"

"Go," Riella ordered, voice remaining as steady and calm as she knew how to make it. No need to let them know she wasn't entirely sure she could hold him for long. "I'll handle this."

"Riella, I don't think you should – "

"_Go." _Hints of confusion that wasn't hers trickled through the back of her processor, working its way through the block she still had up on the touch-telepathic link. That was worrying on a number of levels. "That was an order."

As Tai's footsteps receded, Riella pushed away the rest of her thoughts and concentrated on keeping the man's arm twisted so far up that the joint strained. "I have questions. You have answers. Give them and I let you live."

No response. As expected.

"I recommend taking that offer," she continued after a few seconds of silence, tone hardening as she let a hint of anger creep in. "You threatened my family and I know what you are. I will _not _use minimal force again. Tell me who you are. Tell me who you work for."

The flat statementgot a reaction. The man's shoulders and back went so rigid Riella wondered about muscle damage, and his metal hand clamped down into a fist. Unidentifiable shreds of emotion flicked across the closed link, rippling from the point where her knuckles brushed his scalp. Riella frowned, debating. She knew better – touch-telepathy was complex at best and was never a good idea when an enemy was involved – but curiosity was starting to outweigh practicality. What could it hurt to open a quick meld? In and out.

_Not yet. _

Shaking off the residual emotion – fear? Anger? Confusion? Frustration? It wasn't clear – she repeated her question through gritted teeth. "Who. Are. You?" Curiosity won, and she let the link crack open. Just enough to figure out what she was picking up from –

_Cold, so cold it hurts to breathe. Hurts to think. Red on white, everything's blurred and it hurts to move. No, no no no I can't be back this isn't happening - _

_- where's my arm what are you doing, hurts like hell get off me GET OFF - "you will be the new fist of Hydra" like hell I will! – get your hands off me I don't care what you want the answer's no - _

_- "Bring in the asset." Weapon. Asset. Winter. Me. "Mission report." I can't. I can't. I don't know. Target Alpha. Man on the bridge – shield and blue eyes and voice. I knew him. I did. I don't know – I don't know – no don't I don't know – "Two targets level six I want them dead" - _

"_I'm with you till the end of the line." _

_He's falling. I knew him and I don't know him and mission complete. Target eliminated._

_No. Not a target. Not my target. I won't kill him._

_I'm done._

_- they'll come after me – they have to, you can't lose an asset – and I won't go back. I won't – I don't remember but I won't go back – they'll have to kill me first – they'll send another asset, another weapon - _

_- her. In the body armor and the jacket. Focused, looking for someone, combat-trained, not conventional military. Hydra. She's here to kill me. _

_No. Not today. Someday. Not today. _

_- no no no I won't I can't – stop, stop it, please no they're not taking me back alive I won't not again – just kill me just do it come on – "Who. Are. You?" – no I can't answer I can't I don't know I don't – no you don't have to I don't remember, I don't, nothing – no – no - _

Riella's optics snapped back online just in time to see the concrete before her cheek smashed into it.

For a second, she couldn't move, frozen under the weight of blinding confusion and pain and fear and desperation. The bruise on her cheekbone barely registered through the haze of emotion.

_What did I do?_


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: So I probably spent too long worrying about this chapter. It was fun to write, though. **

_**Chapter Four**_

_**Chicago, Illinois, USA**_

_**11:55 AM, US Central Time**_

Riella fought for clarity, vents cycling in short uneven gasps and vision blurring until she couldn't tell if she was still looking at the concrete.

_You're alright. Everything is alright. Just take a moment. Telepathic overload. Don't panic. Everything is alright. Not your memories. Not yours. Calm. Be calm._

The sound of a ragged breath from less than two yards away was all it took to activate her fight-or-flight reflexes, already in overdrive. Before she could think, she'd bolted upright into a crouch, left hand and knee braced on the concrete, right hand back with the battle blade sliding out past her knuckles. Her head snapped up, bringing her face-to-face with the barrel of a gun.

_Submachine gun, Skorpion vz. 61, Czechoslovakian make,_ the calm part of her processor noted idly. _Eight hundred fifty rounds a minute at one thousand and fifty feet per second from two feet away. No such thing as bulletproof at that range. _

The man's eyes locked on her face, pupils dilated too wide and not entirely focused. His thumb flicked down across the safety switch, clicking it to "semi-auto".

_Message received. _With a slight effort, Riella retracted her battle blade and shifted her weight back onto her heels, bringing both hands down to her sides and keeping them open. "Okay. Easy. Take it easy." _Not looking at me. Through me. What is he seeing? Remembering? Fear and anger – a dangerous combination. _"I am not here for you. I have no idea who you are and no intention of hurting you. Can you hear me? I will not hurt you."

No reaction. The gun didn't move. But neither did his trigger finger.

"I will not hurt you." She kept her tone soft and even, watching the gun and the face behind it. Out of the corner of one optic, she saw Lennox holding Tai back from running in gun-first. _Good man. Thank you, Will. _He knew as well as Riella did that the man crouched on the concrete in front of her was on a hair-trigger. One sudden move, anything that made him feel threatened, and the Skorpion's magazine would be emptied into whatever happened to be in front of it. At the moment, that was Riella's head.

Forcing the image of the probable results out of her processor, Riella focused on the man in front of her, searching for any sign that she was getting through, and kept talking. "You are in no danger from us. No one will hurt you." _Hard to believe after _you_ attacked _him_, _she realized, a few seconds too late.

His hand shifted. Less than a fraction of an inch. Finger hovering over the trigger. One twitch and she'd die. Icy eyes looked straight through her. He wasn't seeing her.

"Easy," she all but whispered. "_Easy._" Her fingers almost vibrated with the effort of staying still. _Keep talking. Keep trying. This is your responsibility. You started this. Fix it. _"I am no threat to you. I was wrong when I assumed you were a threat to us. I should not have attacked you, and I am sorry."

Something changed in his expression, a hint of awareness behind the stone-cold glare. His gaze just barely flicked left and right, looking for something behind Riella, before returning to make eye contact again.

_He's trying to listen. He's trying. _Understanding flashed through her processor, fragments of his memories fitting together with the image in front of her, tiny precise movements and that vacant stare. _He's been hurt. Broken. For a long time. How long since someone apologized to him? _

"I'm sorry," she repeated, softer this time. "I didn't know. I made the wrong call, and I hurt you, and I am truly sorry. I will not repeat my mistake. You have my word." Holding herself crouched on her heels was uncomfortable, and she gradually lowered herself a few inches back into a more comfortable position.

His jaw tightened, gaze flicking down to her right hand, and his finger curled down around the trigger.

_Mistake._ Riella froze instantly, processor racing for a solution, any way to convince him she was genuine. He'd seen the battle blade extend and retract into her wrist. He wouldn't consider her unarmed, unless…

Very, very slowly, she raised her left hand, putting it between her face and the gun. "Easy. Easy, it's alright." She kept her right hand down at her side and fully ejected the blade, detaching it from her arm and letting it clatter to the concrete. Without breaking eye contact, she flicked the blade away with one foot. "I will not hurt you." Still moving too slowly for comfort, she lowered her left hand back to her side and repeated the ejection with the second blade. "I promise you, I have nothing to do with Hydra." She wasn't entirely sure she was right to assume "Hydra" was the SHIELD-affiliated conspiracy-slash-spy organization that had dropped three helicarriers on Washington, D.C., six months before Chicago, but what _else_ could he be referring to?

The man broke eye contact long enough to glance side-to-side at the battle blades on the ground. Riella kept still, holding her hands open at her sides, and waited.

Gradually, the gun barrel tilted down, until the tip pointed at her chest instead of her head.

_Survivable. Chest armor might deflect enough of the bullets for me to get clear. Does he know that? _She studied his expression, noting the wide-eyed stare, the slight back-and-forth twitches as he tried to focus on her face, the almost imperceptible shake in his human hand. _Yes. He knows. He doesn't want to kill me. This is defense, not aggression. _

She carefully sat back until she was kneeling on the concrete and allowed her shoulders to relax. "I know you won't hurt me. It's all right."

His jaw tightened sharply and his eyes narrowed. Instinctively, Riella raised both hands in a universal 'unarmed and harmless' gesture. "Easy. That wasn't a threat." When he didn't react, she lowered her hands carefully back to her lap. "I am not here for a fight. Truly. I know this played out differently, and I am sorry. All I want is to walk away." _We're running out of time. _Behind the man, she could see Tai staring at her, silently pleading with her to hurry and deal with this.

The gun didn't move, but the man tilted his head slightly, studying her. His mouth twisted, jaw working, and she recognized the signs of indecision. _He has a choice to make. Is that a new concept for him? Possibly. Don't make it harder. Give him a reason to choose. What reason?_

_Don't try to play him. Be honest. _Riella cycled her vents slowly, blinked a few times, and forced the words out. "I need to find my family. All of us do. We're being hunted, and the longer I stay here, the higher the probability that someone will find us. You're in no danger from me. As far as I'm concerned, when I walk away, I never saw you. All I want is to find my family and keep them safe. That has nothing to do with you." She winced, pushing down the sudden fear that had broken through on the last few sentences. _Don't. Prowl will be fine. Don't do that to yourself._ "And I believe that you have no intention of hurting me. Just let us walk away." She hesitated before adding, "Please."

The man stared at her for one, two, three heartbeats, eyes fixed on hers. Waiting. Deciding.

Then, in one quick movement, he clicked the safety back into place, lowered the gun, and stood up, taking a few quick steps back.

Riella cycled her vents again, this time in relief, and rose to face him. "Thank you."

He glanced her over once, clearly noting the metal forearms and scars on her face and shoulders, before nodding briefly and setting the gun back into a holster between his shoulder blades. The movement was slower, hinting at injuries underneath his jacket, and Riella winced at the realization that he was probably hurt much worse than he let on.

"Are you…" She held out one hand and took a hesitant step forward.

Clearly, that was a step too far, because the instant she moved, the man spun around and bolted. Before she could decide whether or not to follow, he'd disappeared into the shadows of the construction zone.

Riella stared after him, wondering. _Who are you? What happened to you?_


	6. Chapter 5

_**Chapter Five**_

_**Chicago, Illinois, USA**_

_**12:06 PM, US Central Time**_

Lennox's vice-grip on Tai's arm and shoulder didn't release until the stranger had disappeared into the shadows. The minute he let go, Tai jerked away and bolted toward the woman still standing in the middle of the sidewalk. "Ri! Riella, are you okay? Ri?"

"I'm all right." Riella's voice caught slightly on the last word, and she held out a hand to keep Tai at arm's length, still staring across the road at the construction zone. "I'm fine."

Tai shook her head and stepped in front of Riella, trying to get the older technorganic to acknowledge her. "No, you're not. You're _bleeding._"

"Am I?" Riella frowned, swiped a hand across her throat, and looked down at the green streaks on her hand as if she wasn't sure what it was. "Oh."

"How did you not know that?" Tai winced at the sight of the long slash across Riella's throat. It wasn't deep or life-threatening by any means, but it looked painful as hell. "Hey, c'mon, we gotta get out of here. Where's your coat? You're gonna need it. And please tell me you have a hologram that'll cover that."

Riella's vents cycled in the Cybertronian equivalent of a deep breath, and she finally looked at Tai. "Oh. Yes, of course." Her optics dimmed briefly and her holograms came back online with a slight ripple effect, flickering back into place. She looked – well, not _normal_ exactly, but less like an alien robot badly disguised as a human. To Tai's relief, her friend finally stopped staring off into the distance, straightening her shoulders and picking up the three-foot battle blades she'd left on the ground. In one quick movement, she crossed her arms and slid both weapons back into the latches hidden under her holograms.

"Okay." Tai looked from Riella to Lennox and back again. "Let's go. You can explain what the hell is going on when we're _out _of here."

Riella muttered something under her breath in Cybertronian, picked up her backpack, and stalked off down the alley. Lennox shrugged, exchanged a brief worried look with Tai, and hurried to catch up with the Autobot. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Tai rolled her eyes and took a few steps after them. Something clattered against her foot, and she stopped to see what.

The stranger's knife. Still streaked with green blood.

She stared at it for a second. _He almost killed her and she let him walk away. That's not normal. That's not okay. _Frowning, Tai scooped up the knife, cleaned it off with a Kleenex she found in her pocket, and dropped the blade into the bottom of her backpack. It might come in handy later.

Thirty minutes of walking later, Riella still hadn't volunteered any information about the strange encounter. In fact, she hadn't said anything at all. The silence was unnerving; Riella wasn't one to leave her team _entirely_ in the dark, even if she did tend to keep things to herself. Whatever had happened must have really rattled her.

Tai gave the older technorganic as long as she could, but curiosity finally got the better of her. She fell into step next to Riella and looked up at her, trying to get the tall woman's attention. "Ri? Hey, you in there?"

"Where else would I be?" Riella frowned without really looking at her.

Sighing, Tai shook her head. "I _know_ you know what it means, Ri. Come on, talk. What's wrong? What happened? Who was that back there?"

Riella's jaw tightened and she looked away, rotating her left shoulder in small circles without seeming to realize it. "I don't know."

"Bull," Tai said, more bluntly than she meant to sound. "You did your Jedi-mind-reading thing on him and almost passed out. You saw _something._"

Silence. Riella's optics flickered brighter behind the dimming hologram, but otherwise she didn't react.

"…Sorry." Tai winced and tried to get Riella to look at her. "I'm just worried about you. I mean, it's bad enough Jazz and 'Cade are gone and we're out of contact with base, so I don't know if Dad or Techno and Sparrow are okay or anything…" She winced, swallowed, and went on quickly. "Just…if something happens to you, it's just me and Lennox out here. And I don't want another friend to…"

"I know." Riella cut her off with an abrupt gesture. "Nothing to worry about. I'm perfectly fine. And I _wasn't _lying to you." Her tone took on a slight edge. "I do _not _lie. I have no idea who that was, because _he_ has no idea who he is. Amnesiac, mostly human, and entirely unaware of our existence until I attacked him." Her optics flared again, and the words came too quickly. "I was in the _wrong._ It was a mistake, one that I will undoubtedly pay for at some point in the future as it was clear he is _also_ running from something. Mental disconnect is difficult to handle with an uncontrolled link, hence my reaction. There is nothing for you to worry about. Any further discussion would be pointless. Is _that_ enough information for you?"

"Wow," Lennox said dryly, turning to look back at the two women. "Breathe, Riella." When she opened her mouth to retort, he interrupted, "I know you don't need to. Do it anyway."

Riella sighed heavily and looked away from both of them. "I apologize. Mind melds are…stressful. I didn't mean to snap."

"Yeah. I know. It's okay." Shrugging and trying to smile, Tai started walking again. Riella and Lennox followed.

"Soooo…" Lennox dragged the word out, obviously trying to change the subject. "Look, I think we need to talk about long-term survival here. One day is fine, but sooner or later we're going to need food. Somewhere to stay. Any ideas?"

"Ah…good point." Riella looked relieved to have the conversation move away from the stranger. "I don't want to resort to stealing yet, but I don't know that we can get food any other way. We can't risk getting caught on a security camera. Suggestions in that department would be welcome. As for shelter, I know the location of a safe house, or what'll pass for one."

"Um..." Tai paused for a moment. "I might have an idea for getting food, but – " A movement down a nearby street caught her eye, and she stopped for a second. "Wait, did you see that?"

"No," Riella said, a little too quickly, while Lennox looked down the alley in vague confusion and asked "See what?"

Another look down the street revealed nothing. Not even a stray cat. Tai frowned. "Probably nothing. I just thought there was someone there."

"Could have been. Keep your optics open." Riella rotated her shoulder again with an odd grimace that looked out of place on her features. "Now, about this food idea…"


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: Little bit of a short chapter, but hopefully still good. The next one will be a little bit longer to make up for it; this was just the best place for a chapter break. **

_**Chapter Six**_

_**Chicago, Illinois, USA**_

_**12:30 PM, US Central Time**_

"So we're trusting a _Wheeljack_ modification." Lennox sighed heavily and glared at both Riella and Tai. "Am I the only one who sees the problem with that?"

Riella shrugged. "No, but I don't have a better idea. You're sure this will hold long enough for you to get in and out of the store?"

"Yeah, of course." Tai triggered the shift, and made a face at the odd sensation of her entire body rearranging itself. "It'll hold as long as I pay attention. How's it look?"

"Ordinary." Riella studied her for a moment. "Perfectly normal human. I'd say college-age, possibly twenty or twenty-one, maybe from -"

Tai rolled her eyes. "Okay, Sherlock. Nobody's going to get that analytical. As long as it looks normal and not like me, it'll be fine."

"It is entirely possible someone is analyzing all security camera footage – "

Lennox's long-suffering sigh made Tai grin and stifle a snicker. "Riella, just let her do her thing, okay? I know you want to find out who's behind this, but drawing them out didn't work. Let's try staying undercover for a while. Safety in invisibility and all that."

Riella turned away and muttered something about her original idea "needing more testing before being judged a failure". Tai rolled her eyes again, checked to make sure the transformation was holding, and took a deep breath. "Okay. Here goes."

"Tai. Wait." Riella's voice stopped her before she could make it out of the shadowed alley.

"Yeah?" Tai paused and looked back.

The older technorganic looked uncharacteristically nervous, jaw tight and optics dimmed. "Stay safe. Stay _alive_."

_She's scared for me. She's worried about everybody, but she's really scared for me. That's why she's stalling._ Tai forced a smile, touched by her friend's concern. "I will, Ri. I promise."

Riella nodded, but didn't say anything. Tai could tell, without looking back, that the Autobot didn't stop watching her until she'd crossed the parking lot and entered the grocery store.

The store didn't have too many security cameras, but Tai had to stop herself from checking for them anyway. _Amazing how fast I got paranoid,_ she thought dryly, forcing herself to stay within camera range. _Only been on the run for half a day, and I'm already hiding from everything. How does anybody ever do undercover? _At least shopping was easy – as long as she got things that didn't need cooking, they'd be fine.

She was almost done, on her way to the checkout, when the automatic doors slid open. Tai glanced up out of habit, and nearly froze in place.

Two men in black fatigues and body armor stalked through the door, studying every person within their line of sight. Tai's spark raced as they paused, looking in her direction, but they moved on after a few seconds.

_Stay calm, Tai. Stay calm. They might not even be here for you._ Tai hurried through checkout, barely noticing the cashier, and tried to walk out of the store as casually as possible.

When she reached the shadowed alley, her spark was still pounding, but she'd managed not to run. _See? We're good. I got this…_

"Tai? Are you alright?"

Tai jumped nearly a foot and a half in the air, and unintentionally shifted back to her real form. "_Jesus,_ Riella!"

"Sorry." Riella moved out from behind a parked car, optics glimmering slightly in the shade. "What's wrong?"

Tai took a few deep breaths and pushed her hair out of her face. "There were soldiers inside. I don't think they saw me, but…"

"Copy. Time to go. Lennox!" Riella took one of the grocery bags, sorting them into her own backpack and Tai's, and gestured for the younger technorganic to go ahead of her. "Let's roll out!"

Lennox sprinted down the alley, pointing back the way he'd come and grabbing frantically for his backpack. "Not that way! Got a military vehicle incoming – "

"Did they see you?" Tai heard the shouting a second before the six heavily armed humans rounded the corner, and took a second to groan and facepalm. "They saw you."

"Yeah – can we discuss it later?"

"Go. Go!" Riella pushed Tai ahead of her, holograms off and optics blazing "Follow Lennox!"

Tai stumbled slightly and sprinted to catch up with Lennox, before realizing the problem a few steps out of the alley. Riella hadn't followed them. "What? Ri! You idiot! No!" She spun around and tried to run back, only to find her path blocked by the two soldiers from the grocery store. Both held guns, heavy ones meant as anti-tank artillery, leveled directly at her. Riella was nowhere in sight.

_Great… _Tai cycled her left arm into its cannon attachment, bracing for a fight. Behind her, the safety on Lennox's sidearm clicked off. Tai winced, appreciating the gesture but already knowing it wouldn't work. Up close, she could recognize the laser-deflecting body armor NEST had been developing. Her gun wouldn't have much effect on it, never mind human weapons. The taller soldier smirked coldly at her and cycled a round into place.

"Go ahead, Transformer. Make my day."

_Frag. _


End file.
